Pure Intentions
Challenge Ten: Pride and Prejudice
Title: Pure Intentions
Author: seaislewitch
Main wizard: Pollux Black (1912-1990)
Characters: Irma Crabbe, Ella Yaxley (OFC), Violetta Bulstrode Black (Mother)
Rating/Warnings: PG-13/R canon underage marriage/dark theme
Genre: Romance/Drama
Word count: Exactly 500
Prompt: #10 crystal ball
With blood pure, frame sturdy and fertility abundant, Irma Crabbe, who was utterly lacking in appearance and charm, was abruptly thrust upon me, without recourse or consideration. Mother, undoubtedly hallucinating, had seen the witch holding a baby -- resembling me, no less -- in her fickle, damning crystal ball. Having the misfortune of two sisters, as well as one noticeably absent Squib brother, made mine the task of producing an heir worthy of the House of Black. The younger I started, apparently, the better. I was but ten and two.
I, however, unequivocally preferred the unspoilt vision of Ella Yaxley. I had longed to bestow my lips upon hers since July last, when we had hid inside a cupboard during a party game at Ebonfield, my ancestral home. Inside the cramped space, Miss Yaxley, sweet-smelling and soft-skinned, was pressed against me, and my blood stirred deep within my being.
~ * ~
During the winter solstice festivities, I found myself betwixt my unwanted betrothed, the square-jawed Irma, and the object of my desire, the delicate-featured Ella. Although blissfully close to her, duty called.
"Miss Crabbe, may I have the next dance?" I asked, cringing inside as Mother watched approvingly.
While Irma rose to tower above me, I glanced at Ella with regret, knowing this blatant act would undoubtedly upset her female sensitivities.
When I delivered Irma back to the settee, fair Ella was not to be seen. I made my excuses and found Ella taking refuge in the same cupboard of last July.
I confessed my undying love.
"I am promised to Williamus Parkinson," she whispered. "You are to marry...her."
"You shall be mine."
We kissed. It was our first -- my first -- and it was glorious, sustaining me through the wretched trials of the coming season.
~ * ~
I continued my magical education at Hogwarts, alongside my lovely Ella, while my wife remained at Ebonfield. Four months after our nuptials, Irma birthed a baby. Unfortunately, it was female, and I knew my duty was still before me. My dread of the upcoming break was overwhelming.
If Ella was distressed about rumours of a baby, I never knew it. She lavished me with her usual attention, and I courted her unabashedly at school, dreaming of living out my days in ecstasy and luxury with her. I would posses her at any expense.
~ * ~
Near the end of my seventh year, Irma provided me with an heir and one extra -- twin wizards, and my obligation was complete. Conveniently, Irma died of complications shortly after, and I feigned despair, banishing the three children to live with cousin Arcturus and his wife in Cornwall.
While in mourning, I prevented Ella from marrying anyone else by taking her pure-blood virginity on her seventeenth birthday. I made certain Parkinson knew of my conquest of his intended, and he unceremoniously withdrew his interest.
Immediately after Hogwarts, I moved to London and took Ella as my mistress, not as my wife. It turned out her blood, although pure, was not quite as pure as mine.
~ The End ~
Author's Notes: This story features the only underage canon marriage in the series, and special privileges were used to post, since Pollux Black was thirteen when he fathered Walburga. Irma Crabbe's age is not disclosed on the Black Family Tree. As a result of this story, Walburga would have grown up with her cousin, Orion, whom she later married. It might also explain why she's a bit 'over the top', with her mother dying and her father essentially abandoning her at the tender age of four. Alphard had been blasted off the family tree for 'giving gold to his runaway nephew' -- modern Sirius Black. Since Alphard's birth date is unknown, I took the liberty of making him a twin to Cygnus in this story.